Musings on the Daily Lectionary

Today's reading from Acts reports the arrest of Paul, which sets in motion events that will eventually take him to Rome and, presumably, to his execution. His arrest happens following a mob scene at the Temple after some Jews accuse Paul of defiling the Temple. It isn't clear just who these Asian Jews are, but it is entirely possible that some of them are Christian Jews. Read the letters written by Paul and you will get an idea how strained his relations were with some Jewish Christians who insisted that all converts be circumcised, adopt Jewish dietary restrictions, and so on.

The fact that the accusations against Paul are made up of lies, half-truths, and misunderstandings makes no difference. The crowd is whipped into such a frenzy that soldiers arrest Paul, and when the tribune attempts to make sense of the situation, "Some in the crowd shouted one thing, some another; and as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks." Sound familiar?

Given what trouble mobs cause in Bible - Paul has been beaten before by enraged mobs, and, of course, a mob helps get Jesus crucified - you would think that Christians would be extremely wary of them. Yet we've participated in quite a few over the years. Whether it's witch trials or pogroms against European Jews, Christian mobs have had the same sort of disastrous results as those in the Bible. And yet I see all sorts of people who clearly consider themselves Christians engaging in what looks a lot like mob mentality at "town halls" to discuss health care reform.

While I'm quite certain that Christians of deep faith can hold many different views on health care that are in keeping with that faith, when Christians start acting like mobs, they are not following the ways of Christ, but the win-at-all-costs ways of the world. Mobs and love are pretty much incompatible, and above all, Christians are called to love God and to love our neighbors, even the ones we think are enemies.

Have Americans become so partisan, so selfish and narcissistic, as to make both democracy and Christian discipleship hard to envision? Lord, save us from ourselves!

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